Fears for kidnapped Afghan fixer

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Journalists' groups have called for the release of an Afghan translator kidnapped with an Italian reporter released on Monday.

Adjmal Nasqhbandi was seized with La Repubblica correspondent Daniele Mastrogiacomo three weeks ago.

Mr Mastrogiacomo was released in exchange for five Taleban leaders in a deal that has sparked a row in Italy.

Press freedom organisations say that such negotiations risk turning journalists into lucrative targets.

'Exceptional decision'

"The case will not be over until Mastrogiacomo's Afghan guide has been freed," the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said.

It urged Afghan and Italian authorities to try to obtain his release.

The group also said it was "very worried" about the implications for journalists working in the country of the way Mr Mastrogiacomo was freed.

Italy's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Ugo Itini, on Wednesday confirmed reports that five Taleban prisoners were released in exchange for the La Repubblica correspondent's freedom.

The move was condemned by Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen during a visit to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"When we create situations where you can buy the freedom of Taleban fighters when you catch a journalist, in the short term there will be no journalists any more," he said.

The Afghan government has defended the move as "exceptional", carried out because of Italy's relationship with Afghanistan.

There are some 1,800 Italian troops in the country.

'Blackmail'

Despite relief in Italy that Mr Mastrogiacomo was freed alive, the revelations of the negotiations - reportedly carried out through an Italian NGO Emergency - sparked dismay in Italy too.

Italian Infrastructure Minister Antonio di Pietro said the deal had been "humiliating" and called for "precise rules, to avoid submitting to unacceptable blackmail that threatens to compromise international credibility".

But Mr Mastrogiacomo, who was abducted while trying to interview senior Taleban officials in Helmand province, said: "If things are done to save a human life [...] this is a positive thing."

Mr Mastrogiacomo, Mr Nasqhbandi and driver Sayed Agha were kept in chains and moved 15 times while in captivity, he said.

Reports - later confirmed - that Mr Agha had been beheaded prompted intensified negotiations which culminated in his handover to Italian representatives on Monday.